The dangers of a top down approach to education and curriculum reform

Very often, those that make decisions about curriculum development are the experts in their field, those who have studied their subject to a high level themselves. Many of these people are gifted teachers developing students at the top end of the education system who are studying for A Levels, at undergraduate level or beyond. Clearly, these people should be very much involved in these curriculum decisions.

However, this is not the whole story. We must not overlook the importance of involving those who have expertise in teaching our youngest learners. These are the professionals with an understanding of child development. They know from experience how our younger learners construct their understanding of our world. They are familiar with the conceptual understanding of children in the early years of education.

It is not enough to start at the outcomes that we want education to achieve in any subject, and then work backwards. This approach often delivers a starting point that does not match the needs of children who are entering our schools. This type of approach builds learning on rocky foundations. It can create gaps in understanding and could cause children to disengage if expectations assume prior learning and skills that children will not yet have.

Children learn and develop forwards, so we must ensure that we do not plan for learning in a backwards fashion.